National Trust libraries gazetteer

Over 160 Trust properties contain book collections. The principal
collections are listed below, but almost all the libraries - great and
small - contain books which are either intrinsically interesting, or
interesting in the context of the histories of the places where they
have come to rest. We should be pleased to answer queries about
libraries below, and detailed collection level surveys can be made
available on request. Collections are catalogued online unless there
is a note to the contrary.

For contact details, and more information about accessing these
collections, please see the National Trust libraries page.
Collections which are catalogued online can be searched through Copac.

A la Ronde, Devon

Small collection of mostly twentieth-century books, but including one outstanding treasure: a miniature library, The Juvenile; or Child's Library (1800).

Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire

Library of mostly twentieth-century books assembled by the Anglo-American oil magnate Huttleton Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966). Principally of note for its collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century fine bindings (by Sangorski, Rivière and the like), and a rather larger collection of magnificent colour plate books, many of them in near-mint condition and among the finest copies in existence. We are unfortunately obliged to be especially cautious in granting access to those Anglesey Abbey books in superb condition when ordinary copies are readily available elsewhere.

The Argory, Co. Armagh

A large collection of mostly nineteenth- and twentieth-century books (though with some older, unusual and undoubtedly rare material) assembled by members of the McGeough Bond family. The previous library was destroyed, along with the room which housed it, in an accidental fire in 1898. Partially catalogued online.

Attingham Park, Shropshire

The great library assembled by the 1st and 2nd Lord Berwick was massively depleted by sale in the Regency period, but the house retains a substantial number of early family books, as well books collected by the 3rd Lord Berwick in the nineteenth century, and the 8th and last Lord Berwick in the twentieth. These, together with sundry set-dressing books, bring the total up to ca. 4500 titles. All of the indigenous Attingham books are catalogued online.

Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire

Small library (ca. 2000 titles) in an ancient moated manor house; some of the books recorded in an inventory in 1760 are still present, with today some 300 pre-1801 books sitting alongside later material, including Catholic printing and a small collection of educational books. All but a few of the books have been catalogued online.

Batemans, East Sussex

A part of Rudyard Kipling's library. The rest, including many of his older books, is at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, the former home of his daughter Elsie Bambridge.

Belton House, Lincolnshire

The Trust's second largest library (over 11,000 titles), assembled by successive generations of the Brownlow family, is the largest to be wholly catalogued to date. Despite some sales before the Trust took over, the collection is magnificent and packed with interest, with five and a half thousand books printed before 1801. Too varied to describe even in summary, it has rich holdings of pamphlets, music, early Continental books, Wing and ESTC material, and much more.

Blickling Hall, Norfolk

The Trust's largest and most magnificent library. The core of the collection was assembled (probably in a London townhouse) by the Dissenting bibliophile Sir Richard Ellys (1682-1742), of Nocton, Lincolnshire. Comparable in quality - if not in scale - to the foundation collections of the British Museum Library, Ellys's library was transferred to Blickling after his death, and has since been augmented with books ranging from the novels read by Caroline, Lady Suffield early in the nineteenth century, through to the working books of the Liberal politician the 11th Marquis of Lothian, who bequeathed Blickling and its contents to the National Trust in 1940. Of well over 12,500 books, over 10,000 were printed before 1801; despite over 2,000 British books printed before 1701, the chief strength is in early Continental printing, many of Ellys's books having been bought at auction in London, Paris and Amsterdam in the 1720s and 1730s.

Selected with unerring skill by Ellys and his librarian, the collection is packed with the rare, the curious and the beautiful; it includes magnificent illustrated books, thousands of pamphlets, books of distinguished provenance, and superb bindings, including seven from the library of Jean Grolier. The 1931 Lothian sale (Anderson Galleries, New York City) deprived the library of some of its incunabula and medieval manuscripts, but barely dented the vast collection of early printed books which was Ellys's chief interest. Roughly half the collection is so far described online (some of the records are in draft form, derived from early shelflists), and cataloguing is ongoing.

Calke Abbey, Derbyshire

8514 books divided between two large and essentially separate libraries. The main collection is the ancestral library of the Harpur-Crewes, assembled since ca. 1700, but rich in eighteenth- and especially nineteenth-century books, often of a markedly domestic kind, with novels, natural history and devotional books predominating over connoisseur books, and many books in boards or original publisher's cloth. The library of the Egyptologist Sir John Gardiner Wilkinson (1797-1875) contains learned books on classical art and archaeology, as well and antiquarian material and books from the Balkans and the Middle East. Partially catalogued online.

Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire

Only a small remnant (still shelved together) survives from the original library of the Dryden family; the remainder of the shelves contain a miscellany of books from various sources, including a small collection of editions of the poet John Dryden and a collection of editions of Walton's Compleat Angler (formerly at Norbury Hall, Derbyshire). The historic parish library from Bromham, Bedfordshire (founded 1739) is on long term loan. Cataloguing almost complete.

Carlyle's House, Greater London

A substantial remnant of the working library of Thomas Carlyle (795 titles in total).

Castle Drogo, Cornwall

A modest collection of mostly late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century books, all indigenous to the house; some catalogued in draft online.

Castle Ward, Co. Down

The library of the Ward family, Viscounts Bangor, large parts of it inherited from the Hamiltons of Bangor and Killyleagh Castle, with books going back to the time of the Plantation of the Ards Peninsula in 1607. 2418 books in total, with roughly 800 pre-dating 1801; Irish books; early Continental books (most probably imported into Ireland in the seventeenth century). 'Country house' books of the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries, including a magnificent coloured set of the first edition Ordnance Survey of County Down.

Charlecote Park, Warwickshire

Magnificent library of the Lucy family, consisting of books in the house since at least the seventeenth century, and grand nineteenth century collecting via William Pickering. Includes large numbers of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century books (many in early bindings), pamphlets, a small collection of nineteenth-century music, colour plate books, Victorian novels, and much else. Approximately 1450 pre-1801 books, including Jacobean drama, a couple of incunables, a medieval manuscript, and a large group of eighteenth-century sermons.

Chartwell, Kent

The working library - mostly twentieth-century books - of Sir Winston Churchill. Other books are known to have been kept in his London home, so while the Chartwell collection appears to be complete, it does not represent all the books which he owned.

Chastleton, Oxfordshire

Small country squires' library, rich in ordinary books of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century; roughly 400 books printed before 1801. Many books fragile.

Cherryburn, Northumberland

Small but delightful collection of 510 books connected with the virtuoso wood engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828); once the personal collection of the New York dealer Justin Schiller, sold to Bewick's birthplace, which was itself acquired by the National Trust in 1991. Much rare or ephemeral material. Charming decorated paper bindings, especially on children's books: both interesting and especially fragile, and requiring the greatest possible care in handling.

Chirk Castle, Clwyd

Some 1231 books purchased at the Chirk Castle sale of 2004, many early. The core of the present library appears to have been assembled by the Myddletons after 1660 - the castle was sacked during the Civil War - and many of the books were certainly at Chirk by the mid-eighteenth century. Many books very fragile.

Clouds Hill, Dorset

The library of T. E. Lawrence was dispersed after his death, and
none of the modest collection of books in the house today belonged to
him.

Coughton Court, Warwickshire

A small group of medieval manuscripts, as well as a seventeenth-century travelling library, in an important Catholic house.

Cragside, Northumberland

Large collection of the Armstrong family, arms manufacturers. Almost entirely from the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries (over 4500 titles). Online cataloguing in progress; most will appear on Copac from Summer 2010.

Derwent Island House, Cumbria

An attractive small collection (895 titles) of mostly Victorian books, assembled by the nineteenth-century owners.

Dorneywood, Buckinghamshire

Small collection of working books and a very attractive small collection of fine bindings (mostly English, 1660-1800) assembled by the donor Lord Courtauld-Thomson (1865-1954). In accordance with his wishes, the house is used as the official residence of a government minister.

Dudmaston, Shropshire

The bulk of the books remain in private hands, but the Trust owns a small collection of twentieth-century botanical books, and a small collection of devotional and other books associated with Lady Lucy Wolryche-Whitmore (d. 1840), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Bradford.

Dunham Massey, Cheshire

The library was assembled primarily by the 1st Earl of Warrington (1652-1694), his son the 2nd Earl (1675-1758), and his granddaughter, Lady Mary Booth (1704-1772). As well as the fine collection of books on show in the library, the house also contains more recent material and a very large collection of unbound eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century pamphlets. The core collection is online, but most of the pamphlets are not yet catalogued.

Dunster Castle, Somerset

Just over 900 volumes (200 of them eighteenth-century English books), probably no more than a remnant of a larger collection once owned by the Luttrells of Dunster, though the detailed history is unknown.

Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire

Fascinating remnant (334 books) of the library of William Blathwayt, William III's Secretary at War; the remainder were sold in 1912.

Erddig, Clwyd

Large library of the Yorkes, squires of Erddig, rich in English books of the early eighteenth century; many fragile books.

Felbrigg, Norfolk

Large country house library assembled by the Wyndham family, together with part of the working library of the last squire, the antiquarian Wyndham Ketton-Cremer. The whole collection runs to well over 8000 titles, including 4000 books printed in Britain before 1801, and over 1200 Continental books printed between 1500 and 1800. Large collection of pamphlets. Only about a fifth of the collection has so far entered the online catalogue.

Florence Court, Co. Fermanagh

The historic library of the Earls of Enniskillen was removed from Florence Court in the early 1970s, but roughly half the books (in excess of 500) were acquired by the National Trust some thirty years later, and returned to the shelves in Co. Fermanagh. Most of the rest of the library is now in Cambridge University Library, which has catalogued it and kept the books together. The books at Florence Court include books with early family provenances, a fine collection of Hibernica, and a significant part of the great collection of scientific books assembled by the 3rd Earl of Enniskillen in Victorian times.

Gibside Chapel, Co. Durham

Small collection of liturgical books, bound for the opening of the chapel in 1812.

Greenway, Devon

Holiday home of Agatha Christie. Only a comparatively small proportion of the many books in the house belonged to her (most to her daughter and son-in-law), but a collection of nearly 300 first editions and association copies - many on display - are catalogued online.

Gunby Hall, Lincolnshire

Small library (1223 titles) of the Massingberds, Lincolnshire squires, in part going back to the seventeenth century, the books rich in provenance and ownership marks. More recent books from the working library of Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd (1871-1947), Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1933-1936. Only a small part so far catalogued online.

Hallhouse Farm, Kent

Small collection of books of mostly Kentish interest, assembled in the twentieth century, and mostly printed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; a few earlier books.

Ham House, Greater London

With only a handful of exceptions, the great libraries assembled by the Duke of Lauderdale in the seventeenth century, and by the Earls of Dysart in Georgian times have been entirely dispersed (Lauderdale's books in the 1690s, and the Dysart collection in 1938 and 1947). The shelves of the Library room of 1672 are filled with a fine collection of books (3275 titles) bequeathed by Norman Norris (1917-1991), mostly bought at country house sales in the between ca. 1930 and 1960. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books are especially well-represented, as well as a small collection of catalogues and bibliographical works, some annotated.

Hanbury Hall, Worcestershire

Remnant of the library of the Vernons of Hanbury, partly catalogued online.

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

Less a library than a collection of 'duplicates': evidently books of which the Dukes of Devonshire owned more than one copy were liable to be sent to Hardwick in the nineteenth century. Consequently a rather random selection, but containing some interesting things, including books once at Chatsworth and at Chiswick House. 933 titles; roughly a quarter so far on the online catalogue.

Hill Top, Cumbria

Hinton Ampner, Hampshire

The library of Ralph Dutton, later 2nd Baron Sherborne, replacement for a collection destroyed by fire (along with the house) in 1960. In a sense clearly assembled to look good on the shelves, with many finely-bound sets, the collection also includes some fine colour plate books.

Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire

The working library of the Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), slightly depleted by twentieth-century sale, including within it a substantial remnant of the bibliomaniac library of his father, best-selling author Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1846). 1656 titles, including roughly 1000 nineteenth-century British books and over 500 earlier books. Presentation copies from, among others, Queen Victoria and Matthew Arnold. Some material relating to the Congress of Berlin, 1878, Anglo-Jewry, the proclamation of Victoria as Empress of India.

Ickworth, Suffolk

Magnificent library of the Hervey family, Earls and Marquesses of Bristol, assembled since the reign of James I, and containing interesting material from all periods. Includes Renaissance books, some important manuscripts, a small collection of fine Restoration bindings, a large pamphlet collection, colour plate books, and the working library of the nineteenth century marquesses. The library of Molly Lepel (1706-1768), wife of John, Lord Hervey, is among the largest and most interesting libraries assembled by a woman in the Trust's portfolio. Almost 4000 books (more than half pre-1801), the great majority catalogued online.

Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire

The Curzon collection at Kedleston consists of roughly 1400 historic books shelved together in the room which Robert Adam designed to house them. Rich in both English and Continental printing, including novels, a couple of incunables (one illuminated), and a good general collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books, the most striking feature is the magnificent collection of architectural books. In addition to the main collection, the downstairs rooms contain a large number of later nineteenth- and early twentieth-century books, which form at least part of the working collection of George Nathanial Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India from 1898 to 1905.

Killerton House, Devon

Just over 800 items of printed music of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries survive from the original library of the Acland family. These are catalogued online. The remaining books, on loan to the Trust, come from the library of the folklorist Sabine Baring-Gould, and have no direct link with the house; only a small proportion (mostly books also present in other houses) have so far been catalogued online.

Kingston Lacy, Dorset

Magnificent library of the Bankes family, one of the Trust's largest early collections, large parts assembled on the Continent in the seventeenth century. Includes roughly 1450 pre-1801 books (many printed on the Continent), including the magnificent Jean de Planche binding for Sir Nicholas Bacon (1510-79) which is one of the Trust's most iconic books, as well as other important early bindings. Annotated and inscribed books. Catalogued apart from a few manuscripts, and the most recent segment of the collection.

Knightshayes Court, Devon

Only a remnant of the library of the Heathcote Amerys, interspersed with a variety of set-dressing books of varying provenance. Partly catalogued.

Knole, Kent

The only book owned by the Trust is the autograph manuscript of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, inscribed by her to Vita Sackville-West, and presented in turn to the Trust by her son Nigel Nicolson (1917-2004).

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire

Acquired January 2010, and still under investigation. A large library, rich in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books, some clearly in the Abbey since the seventeenth century. Also books which belonged to photographic pioneer William Fox Talbot (1800-1877). No online cataloguing as yet.

Lamb House, East Sussex

A remnant of the library of the novelist Henry James. His garden Writing Room was destroyed during the Second World War, and many of the books were subsequently sold by his nephew's widow, and are now - unsurprisingly - mostly in America.

Lanhydrock, Cornwall

The National Trust's largest early library, consisting of the working books of Hannibal Gamon (1582?-1651) Rector of St Mawgan, and of John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (1606-1685) - for the complex background, see: The Book Collector, 54, Summer 2005. Over 600 STC and 800 Wing books, some rare, many annotated or in contemporary binding, incunabula, well as 880 early Continental books (some from exotic and unusual places). Later additions include a run of eighteenth-century book auction catalogues. Partially catalogued online, with much more work still to do.

Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion

The original library of the Lewes family was mostly sold in 1918. The books which replaced them are remarkable - if that is the right word - precisely because they are so ordinary: late nineteenth-century popular women's fiction, and books on hunting especially prominent.

Lyme Park, Cheshire

A substantial remnant of the library of the Legh family of Lyme, including a small selection of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century books which appear to have been in situ since they were printed. The unique 1487 Sarum Missal published by Caxton was acquired by the National Trust in 2009. Indigenous books all catalogued online.

Mr Straw's House, Nottinghamshire

Medium-sized collection (some 1150 books) assembled by a middle class Nottinghamshire family in the middle of the twentieth century.

Montacute, Somerset

With a few exceptions (including a catalogue) the original library of the Phelips family is long gone, and the shelves at Montacute were filled by the National Trust from the 1940s onwards - mostly with books which had once belonged to the Lutley family of Brockhampton, Herefordshire, and books salved from the wreck of Coleshill, the great Palladian house of the Pleydell-Bouveries, which burned down in 1950.

Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire

Parts of the Nostell library - one of the Trust's largest - have been on the site since the seventeenth century, but many more books were added during the long reign of Charles Winn (1795-1874), an enthusiastic antiquarian and collector. The huge pamphlet collection - covering the Civil War, politics, Catholic emancipation and much else, and rich in provincial printing - once belonged to William Robert Hay (1761-1839), the reactionary Vicar of Rochdale who, as chairman of the Manchester and Salford bench magistrates, was implicated in the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Many of the Swiss books added by Sabine d'Herwart (d. 1798), wife of the 5th Baronet, are probably unique outside Switzerland.

Ormesby Hall, Cleveland

Just under 1700 books once the property of the Pennyman family. Mostly from the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries, strong in radical causes, reflecting the left wing sympathies of twentieth-century owners.

Osterley Park, Greater London

The great library of the Earls of Jersey was sold in 1885. Apart from a handful of books bought back by the Trust, the books seen by visitors are on loan to the Trust to dress the empty shelves, and are mostly not included in the catalogue.

Owletts, Kent

The small library of the architect Herbert Baker (1862-1946), colleague of Lutyens, and donor of the house. Cataloguing in progress.

Peckover House, Cambridgeshire

Apart from a single Byzantine manuscript (repurchased by the Trust with help from the Pilgrim Trust, and on display), the books in the house are imports, many from the library of Sidney Meade (1839-1917), Canon of Salisbury cathedral. About 60 books predate 1801.

Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd

Medium-sized gentleman's library, mostly of books of the period 1760 to 1840, assembled by the Dawkins-Pennant family, slate magnates and former plantation owners. Mostly early to mid nineteenth-century books, but nearly 500 pre-1801.

Petworth, West Sussex

The Trust owns only 149 books at Petworth: 148 Jacobean play quartos (including works by Shakespeare and Jonson), still in their contemporary livery bindings, and the Petworth Chaucer manuscript, ca. 1410, recently digitised by the John Rylands University Library, Manchester.

Polesden Lacey, Surrey

Library of the socialite Mrs Ronny Greville (1863-1942), mostly standard leather-bound sets, but including gallery books, a few interesting earlier books, and a handful of colour plate books.

Powis Castle, Powys

Only two books in the castle - a medieval and an oriental manuscript - belong to the Trust.

Saltram, Devon

Magnificent library of the Earls of Morley, mostly working books of the period 1730-1830, but with a number of remarkable treasures, including fine and embroidered bindings, a splendid copy of Catesby's hand-coloured Natural History of the Carolinas (1731), a Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) once in the abbey of St Emmeran in Regensburg, as well as many local and ephemeral books and pamphlets. Just over 3000 titles, two-thirds pre-1801.

Scotney Castle, Kent

Large library (5801 titles) of the Hussey family, assembled since the seventeenth century, but principally by Edward Hussey (1890-94) and his grandson the architectural historian Christopher Hussey (1899-1970). Includes a large stock of Victorian books, roughly 600 books printed before 1801, Christopher Hussey's working collection of books on art, architecture and art history, and a small collection of early guidebooks and similar material assembled by him.

Shaw's Corner, Hertfordshire

The working library of George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), almost all printed in his lifetime. Part catalogued online.

Sheringham Park, Norfolk

Roughly 1100 books from the library of the Upcher family, mostly later eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century, housed in the room designed for them by Repton.

Shugborough, Staffordshire

A large part of the library of the Anson family, Earls of Lichfield, was sold at auction in 1842. The substantial remnant which remains in the house includes books from the Renaissance onward, both British and Continental, as well as a larger collection of mostly early nineteenth century books. Only a small proportion is so far online, mostly books of which the Trust owns a copy in another collection.

Sissinghurst, Kent

The working libraries of Harold Nicolson (1886-1968) and Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962), the books mostly contemporary with the authors, including twentieth-century first editions, annotated books, review copies (often with the reviews inserted) and presentation copies. In excess of 8000 books and only recently acquired (600 online so far, and cataloguing in progress).

Smallhythe, Kent

The working library of the Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928), rich in material of theatrical interest, and including inscribed and annotated books, rare or unique acting editions, and association copies.

Speke Hall, Merseyside

Springhill, Co. Londonderry

One of the most remarkable historic libraries in Ireland, the Springhill collection goes back to the middle of the seventeenth century. In addition to the books of the Conynghams who first built the house, it includes books assembled in the city of Derry by their merchant cousins the Lenoxes, as well as a large number of books inherited in the nineteenth century which had once been at Lissane House, Co. Tyrone, and prior to that at Blessington House in Co. Wicklow. There are some 750 pre-1801 books on the shelves (as well as more at present in long-term store), as well as an interesting array of nineteenth and twentieth century books. The core of the collection - in the show rooms of the house - is fully catalogued, but further work remains to be done on those in store.

Stourhead, Wiltshire

The great topographical library of Sir Richard Colt Hoare (1758-1838) was mostly sold in 1885, though a remnant survives. Hoare family books from other houses - notably Wavenden, Buckinghamshire - were brought here in the 1890s to fill the empty shelves, and the library was much augmented by Alda, Lady Hoare (1861-1947), Edwardian grande dame, and friend of Thomas Hardy. In the 1940s, the Trust, removed some modern items, but 3038 books remain (over 1500 printed before 1801); roughly half have so far been catalogued online.

Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire

The great library of the Vernons - which once filled the huge Long Gallery at Sudbury - was progressively dispersed, with many books ending up in the Holford collection, itself subsequently broken up. The only books on the catalogue to date are set-dressing books imported by the Trust. Basic records from the electronic inventory of the associated Museum of Childhood (once managed by Derbyshire County Council) have been loaded into Copac, but form not more than a skeleton guide to a very large collection of mostly twentieth-century children's books.

Tatton Park, Cheshire

Despite sales of manuscripts, incunabula and plate books, the great library of the Egertons of Tatton is substantially intact. Rich in almost everything from the Italian Renaissance trophies of Wilbraham Egerton, through to first editions of Jane Austen (in boards), a large collection of printed and manuscript music (including the primary source for Purcell's ode, The Noise of Foreign Wars) and Victorian books on ethnography and big game hunting, the Tatton collection contains very nearly 6000 books. The catalogue was created directly from a printed catalogue issued in the 1970s, and work is in progress to upgrade catalogue entries for pre-1701 British books; circa 1300 eighteenth-century books will follow.

Townend, Cumbria

Remarkable and unique collection (1331 titles) of a family of yeoman farmers, with its origins ca. 1600. The majority of the books listed in an inventory of 1748 are still present. Rich in human interest, with many annotated books, the library also contains a considerable number of early books not known in any other collection, including over 70 otherwise unknown to the English Short Title Catalogue, and a collection of Cumbrian and other chap books.

Tyntesfield, Somerset

Large library of mostly Victorian books, assembled by the Anglo-Catholic Gibbs family, and carefully arranged by subject of the shelves of the great room designed to house them. A period piece, and perhaps the Trust's finest and most undisturbed collection of High Victorian books. Only the 1000 books in the main Library are so far catalogued online; there are another 3000 all over the house, with everything from chapel service books to 1970s paperbacks.

Ty'n-y-Coed Uchaf, Gwynedd

A small collection of mostly Welsh books - about 30 - assembled by several generations of Welsh hill farmers between the early nineteenth century and 1981. At present in store.

Uppark, West Sussex

Some 300 books, a small collection for such a grand house, survived the Uppark fire of 1989. Most catalogued, and mostly eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

The Vyne, Hampshire

Substantial remnant of the library of the Chute family, a few in the house since the seventeenth and eighteenth century, but most clearly acquired in early Victorian times; some sales and somewhat adulterated by books from other sources (notably part of the library of the Johnes family of Dolaucothi, Carmarthenshire). Work in progress to catalogue the collection, and to untangle the sources of the various books.

Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire

Stupendous collection of mostly French books, many in bindings of the greatest possible quality and magnificence (these are not reading copies), usually of royal and aristocratic provenance, all assembled by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-98); illustrated published catalogue by Giles Barber forthcoming. Small collection of superb medieval manuscripts (printed catalogue by Delaissé, 1977).

Wallington, Northumberland

Despite some survivals from an early collection - including a substantial part of Lord Macaulay's library, with many annotated books - the Wallington library dates mainly from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the working collection of the Trevelyans, a remarkable family of radical liberal landowners. In addition to the classical books of George Otto Trevelyan (1838-1928), local books, left-leaning politics can be found; many are annotated. There are several spectacular individual books, including colour plate books and inscribed and association copies.

Wightwick Manor, West Midlands

A large collection of mostly late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century books, few so far catalogued online. Includes a recent acquisition: a Kelmscott Chaucer (on permanent display). (Wightwick has over many decades been treated as an open collection, with appropriate objects of all kinds being brought in.)

Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire

Great library of the Earls of Hardwicke, housed in room originally created for the Harleian Library, somewhat depleted in the nineteenth century. Augmented by books added by the last private owner, Elsie Bambridge, including fascinating books that had belonged to her father, Rudyard Kipling. With over 6000 books(4000 pre-1801), one of the Trust's largest and most varied libraries, too often overlooked in the past because it was not the Harleian collection (of which, apart from a handful of books, including chapel books, barely a trace remains at Wimpole).